Boulder Church Leaves Anti-Choice “Graveyard” and Fake Photos Up in Front of Polling Place

In Ohio, if you wanted to vote early, you had to wait in a long line while anti-choice protesters showed you blown up graphic bloody “fetus” pictures. Now, voters in Boulder, Colorado who want to vote at their polling place at Sacred Heart of Mary Catholic church get to either deal with an anti-choice “graveyard” or go find another location to vote.

The priest of the church had said originally that the anti-choice display was a part of the October “Respect Life” push the church participated in, and that the hundreds of crosses and the “3,300 Abortions Daily in the US” sign would come down the weekend before the election. But at the last minute, Rev. Marcus Mallick decided to keep the materials up instead as a “continuation of the ministry.” Now, voters can either vote at the anti-choice site, or travel to another polling place to cast a ballot.

The display does not appear to violate any election rules against expressing political views at polling places, Boulder County’s Tayer said. It is on the church’s private property and is not explicitly political. It also lies outside the 100-foot buffer inside which no political signs or personal campaigning is allowed.

However, the Boulder County clerk’s office has received three complaints about the display being located outside a polling center.

Tayer said the clerk’s office will not use the church as a polling place during future elections, and voters who object to the display will be allowed to vote instead at voter service centers, including at the main location at the clerk’s office, 1750 33rd St..

The church will not be a polling place next year, but for this year if a voter doesn’t want to see the display, he or she needs to go to a different location, essentially disenfranchising pro-choice voters by adding additional burden to their right to vote.

Meanwhile, those who oppose choice have even shorter lines and an easier voting experience.